Back Safety

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than one million workers suffer back injuries each year, and back injuries account for one of every five workplace injuries or illnesses. Further, one-fourth of all compensation indemnity claims involve back injuries, costing employers billions of dollars. These figures do not begin to reflect the pain and suffering employees experience as a result of their injuries.

Back injuries are exceedingly painful. They are difficult to heal, and they have an effect upon everything a person does. If you have ever experienced a back injury, you already know this. What you may not know is that after you have experienced one back injury, you are much more likely to experience another one sometime during your lifetime. It is important to learn techniques and procedures that may help you prevent a reoccurrence.

If, on the other hand, you are lucky enough to have never injured your back, you can do yourself a big favor by learning how to prevent one in the future. By learning proper lifting techniques and the basics of back safety, you may be able to save yourself a lot of pain.... and a lifetime of back problems.

The best way to prevent back injuries is to develop habits that reduce the strain placed on the back. There are some basic things you can do to help.

Stretch first - If you know that you're going to be doing work that might be hard on your back, take the time to stretch your muscles before starting, just like a professional athlete would do before a workout. This will help you avoid painful strains and sprains.

Slow down - If you're doing a lot of heavy, repetitive lifting, take it slowly if you can. Allow yourself more recovery time between lifts, as well. Don't overdo it.

Rest your back - Take frequent, short (micro) breaks. Stretch. If you've ever been working in an awkward position for a long time, then stood up and felt stiff and sore, you know you've been in that position too long, and your body is now protesting. Taking a one minute stretch break every now and then can help you avoid that.

Sleep on a firm mattress. - Also, the best sleeping position for many people is either on the back with the knees slightly elevated (by a pillow), or on the side with knees slightly bent.

Get in shape - Strengthen your stomach muscles, lose a little weight, increase your flexibility.

It's important to know your body's limitations, and it's important to be aware of your body position at all times. Learn to recognize those situations where your back is most at risk: bending, lifting, reaching, twisting, etc. Then take measures to avoid an injury.

Common Sense Tips for Staying Safe During Fourth of July Celebrations

Using fireworks on the Fourth of July is a tradition.  And it can be safe if a few common sense rules are followed. Fireworks go through vigorous third party testing in China before being shipped to the United States.  But, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”), there were an estimated 9,600 fireworks related injuries during the Fourth of July season in 2011.  Most of these injuries would not have occurred if the fireworks had been used under close adult supervision and if some basic safety steps had been taken. Follow these common sense safety tips for using consumer fireworks in hopes that injuries will be greatly reduced this season:

• Know your fireworks; Read the warning labels and performance descriptions before igniting.
• Have a designated shooter to organize and shoot your family show.
• Alcohol and fireworks do not mix. Save your alcohol for after the show.
• Parents and caretakers should always closely supervise teens if they are using fireworks.
• Parents should not allow young children to handle or use fireworks.
• Fireworks should only be used outdoors.
• Always have water ready if you are shooting fireworks.
• Obey local laws. If fireworks are not legal where you live, do not use them.
• Wear safety glasses whenever using fireworks.
• Never relight a “dud” firework.  Wait 20 minutes and then soak it in a bucket of water.
• Soak spent fireworks with water before placing them in an outdoor garbage can.
• Never attempt to alter or modify consumer fireworks and use them only in the manner in which they were intended.
• Report illegal explosives, like M-80s and quarter sticks, to the fire or police department.

We urge everyone to follow these common sense safety rules in their holiday celebrations.

Safety Solutions Across Multiple Locations & Divisions

Problem: 

We have a business with multiple locations and divisions that is in needs of a corporate wide safety solution.  Currently, each division is in charge of its own safety program, injury results, and training, causing each division to address these critical issues differently.  How can we implement a safety solution to provide measureable statistics and safety program structure across the entire company?

Response:

Development of a safety program does not guarantee a successful implementation. Many attempts fail as implementation is uneven across divisions, facilitators lack the proper skills to identify barriers, and resources are deployed incorrectly.  Hiring a third-party consultant with a proven track record like Three Sixty Safety is the best way to proceed for the following reasons:

• Instant program traction is achieved with precise installation. Without an installation process we find competing organizational demands strip the facilitator of time and energy to execute proper program installation. Resistance is common as roles, responsibilities, and benefits of the program are not clearly articulated by a credible safety champion.
• Our pre-packaged online tools, resources, and documentation provide the structure for implementing and monitoring your safety system. With our 28 years of experience we have the necessary resources identified for your program to succeed.  Locating sufficient resources is quite often an endless internet search for the unknown with many hours wasted.  Three Sixty Safety™ takes the guess work out of your search for resources and directs your budgeted safety funds to useful areas.
• Our system creates buy-in from all employees during our installation process. The inability to promote safety programs to team members & employees is a common occurrence. For a safety program to succeed, the facilitator must know who needs to be involved and exactly what their roles and responsibilities are. The Three Sixty Safety system gets buy-in from all employees during installation. 
• We have a proven track record and know what to measure to get the best result.  What you cannot effectively measure you cannot improve. Many companies do not know what injury statistics to gather, or what they mean which makes it difficult to show improvement over time. Typically, the safety novice collects the wrong data and creates frustration for the safety team and management. Our experience with safety systems ensures that the right statistics will be measured, examined and reacted to accordingly.
• We act as your personal coach to keep your organization on-track and accountable.  Without the proper structure, guidance, and ability to know when to make changes, the “six month fizzle & flop” is very common, despite management’s best intentions.
• Every facility has obstacles that need to be overcome. For some, these obstacles can feel insurmountable. Limited space, budget, and resistance to job modifications are common, which can knock any new system off track. Our experts have seen it all and know what solutions gain the most traction in the shortest amount of time. 
• Should employees be trained in one-shot intervals, or should they be trained on an ongoing basis? Left unanswered, these decisions can lead to inefficient training programs, leaving organization employees unsuccessfully trained.  We have the proven answers to tackle this challenge. Every employee is trained monthly, without negatively affecting production schedules. With our online training options, employee training can be completed and documented quickly.

Safety as an Ongoing Operation

Why don’t companies look at safety as an ongoing operation? Most companies purchase a manual and place it on the shelf to collect dust. If they are ambitious, they may take a step forward and even enter data in a software program or insert basic information into their manual. Unfortunately, that is not enough. Safety must be maintained and keeping your program fresh and “in sync” with OSHA and best practices requires a great deal of effort. Even the conscientious safety director with good intentions in most cases falls behind. A practical approach and credible resources are needed to maintain an effective, ongoing safety program. 
Obviously, the most important component is a proper plan and structure. A good foundation includes management commitment and employee involvement, work-site analysis, hazard control and training. Commitment from management can be demonstrated through written policies, a safety budget and involvement in activities such as the review of accident investigations. Employees can be part of administering training, site inspections and accident reporting. Work-site analysis is accomplished through review of accident records, job-site inspections, and job-hazard analyses. Hazard controls include all steps taken to avoid injury including employee incentives and disciplinary measures. In order to complete the base program, all employees need to be trained. 

The problem is that even with a complete program, addressing updates and staying current can be overwhelming. You need a plan and credible and current resources that allow you to evaluate the updates in relation to your safety program and OSHA activity. The following is a suggested update strategy: 

• Establish a review schedule:  To avoid being overwhelmed, select a topic to review each month. Pay particular attention to hazards OSHA has selected as a focus.

• Perform required actions and establish a record:  After identifying the required procedures and updating the written safety program, “take action.” For example, if you establish required PPE or workplace assessments, make sure they are completed and documented each and every month.

• Check related equipment:  Many hazards are associated with equipment or personal-protective equipment. Make sure proper maintenance has been performed. Schedule future inspections and follow your preventative maintenance schedules.  If you haven’t established them yet, there is no time like the present.   By tracking inspection activity you are able to establish a strict schedule for your next series of inspections.

• Conduct Refresher Training:  Update and administer employee training. Include basic information on hazards and any new information. Previously trained employees can always benefit from a refresher.

• Hire an Outside Consultant:  Hiring a third party with a fresh set of eye’s and perspective on your organization can make a dramatic impact.  Not to mention, holding your “feet to the fire” to make sure tasks and training are being completed as required.

With a solid foundation and proper structure in place, you are on your way to creating an effective, ongoing safety program. Select the resources that best fit your schedule and budget. Make sure you understand the resources you select, will affect the amount of effort it takes to deliver an effective program. Remember the right choices are the ones you can sustain and measure. Don’t wait, whichever option you chose, get your safety program started today.

Mythbuster: Steel Toe Boots Can Sever or Amputate My Toes So I’m Safer Without Them

This is the number one excuse we hear for guys or girls that just don’t want to wear steel toed boots.  If I had a 30 lb anvil and you had to have it dropped on your toes and I gave you three choices for your feet: 

1. Barefoot 
2. Regular work boots no steel toe 
3. ANSI Approved Steel Toe Work Boots or shoes 

Which would you choose?

Adam and Jamie of the Mythbusters actually covered this subject very well and the myth was totally busted. This was Mythbusters episode 42.  Their final result:
Steel toe boots have a higher amputation risk than regular boots: myth busted

Steel Cap Amputation
Myth: Steel-toed boots are more dangerous than regular boots — if something falls on the boots, the steel can curl in and cut off your toes.

(Remember…this is what the believers of this myth are saying. When something heavy hits the boot toe it causes the steel toe cap in the boot to compress down cutting off the toes. It’s not the object falling on the foot that causes the amputation but the object causing enough force that the steel toe cap in  the boot clamps down, cutting through the foot and bone and severing the toes.)

They were able to find one occurrence of amputation while wearing steel-toed boots occurring in real life. In 2002, an Australian worker lost his 3rd toe when some steel pipes feel from a forklift.

Adam and Jamie constructed various tests for this myth using both a guillotine toe-smasher and an arbor-press. Initially they used frangible feet that Adam made, but it turned out that they made a mistake in assuming that their frangible feet would model real human feet being crushed. For better comparisons they ended up using clay.

Frangible Feet Construction
Adam constructed frangible feet to test with based on landmine frangible feet. After testing chicken legs, bamboo, and fiberglass as substitutes for human bones, he decided to use fiberglass bones. The bones were set in a ballistics gel cast of Adam’s leg.

NOTE: in turned out that the results from this test were somewhat invalid. After testing with the steel-toed boots they tested with the regular boots and discovered that the ballistics gel was too springy and was invalidating their results.

Setup: * Guillotine-style toe crusher that drops a flag metal bar onto the toe of a boot beneath. * Used the highest-rated (ANSI-75) steel toe boots.

Results: * 75lbs from 3 feet (official ANSI test height and weight): mashed the leather down a bit, but nothing injurious. * 400lbs from 3 ft: more deformation in the steel plate, but only damage to frangible foot was a broken metatarsal (big toe). Adam: “I want to see some toes cut off or crushed beyond all recognition” * 400lbs from 6 ft: a lot of pancaking of steel cap and lots of broken bones beneath, but no toe amputation.

They didn’t detail the results from the regular boot because of their discovery about the ballistics gel being too springy.

Guillotine drop on boots filled with clay
Because of the ballistics gel problem they decided to use clay instead of the frangible bone legs they had constructed. Clay is the method ANSI uses to test boots.

At the official test height of 3ft with 75lbs there was 0.5″ of clay compression with the steel-toe boot, which is exactly to spec. The regular boot failed horribly, with the clay being completely splattered.

Arbor press test to find total failure point
They used an arbor press to squish boots to their total failure point. The steel-toe boot was able to take 6000lbs of pressure before total failure; the regular boot was only able to take about 1200lbs, which was hard to measure as it failed so quickly.

Shearing attachment tests
In order to test a worst case scenario, they made a shearing attachment, which was a thin metal plate that would hit the boot on edge. They mounted the shearing attachment to the arbor press: at 750 lbs it broke every bone in the frangible foot; at 1400 lbs it severed all the bones in the feet.

They then mounted the shearing attachment on the guillotine and raised it to it’s max height of 6ft and max weight of 400lbs. The blade glanced off the steel plate, shearing the entire shoe in half. They tested again and got the same result. In this particular scenario, were a heavy blade to drop on your foot you could actually lose more of your foot as the steel cap could direct the glade further up the foot as it did in the test. This isn’t the failure mode described in the tests (remember…the myth is the steel toe cap cuts the toes off…not the object falling), though, and regardless of what type of boot you used there would be amputation.

Mythbusted: They had to mount a blade in order to get amputation with the steel toe boot and all their other tests showed much more damage to the foot when regular boots are used.

Opiods and Chronic Pain

Did your workers compensation rates increase at your 2013 renewal

You just received your 2013 workers compensation renewal, the premium increased and your experience modification (E Mod) did as well.   Do you know why, specifically?  Are you satisfied with your brokers answers?    Do you have a plan to reverse  this trend?  If you don’t know exactly why and you don’t have a plan to reverse this trend, then expect to pay a lot more for your workers compensation in the years to come.

Many companies with  higher than expected injury rates experienced a substantial increase in their workers compensation premiums at their January 1, 2013 renewal.  As projected, the new split point changes to the E Mod formula increased your E Mod and consequently your premium.  Whether you realize it or not, your  E Mod in excess of 1.0 caused insurance companies to view you differently and gave them the green light to raise your premiums on top of the increased E Mod.  When Insurance companies price your policies, they place you in rate tiers based on your E Mod and when your E Mod goes up, guess what, so do your rates.

If you didn’t go into 2013 with a plan to reverse this trend, you need to act now to avoid a fall off your own “fiscal workers compensation cost cliff”.  Here is what we recommend:

• Your safety and risk management departments need to immediately become a more of a critical component to your business model.  If you don’t have a plan in place, hire an experienced occupational health & safety professional to help you implement a plan quickly
• If your company has an E-Mod of 1.2 or higher, you need to take drastic steps to reduce your injury rate now.   Again, an experienced professional knows how to help and has a specific plan to address this issue
• The reserves on all of your Workers Comp claims will now be more important than ever.  If you do not have online access, it may be good to check with your carrier to see if online access is available.  Without the ability to accesses your WC claims and get real time data you will be unable to make sound business decisions to affect the outcomes of these injuries.  Do not wait around to your next renewal, like you have in the past to feel the impact
• Alternative insurance  arrangements such as large deductibles, self insurance, loss groups, risk retention groups, and captives may now be more attractive and cost effective.  Caution, if you don’t have plan in place to control injuries and the costs associated with these injuries, alternative (loss sensitive) arrangements are not a viable option
• If your company is in the Assigned Risk Pool because you cannot find coverage in the voluntary marketplace, you need to immediately institute or increase the efforts of your safety program.  Failure to do so, will increase your premiums to the point where you may have to close your doors